


Soul of a Vanguard

by Aliensquidkitty



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Gen, Post-Mass Effect 3, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-08 11:47:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10385967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aliensquidkitty/pseuds/Aliensquidkitty
Summary: Post Catalyst explosion in Mass Effect 3, Morgan Shepard has a long road to prove to herself. Will she overcome her demons? Will she come to trust herself and her abilities again? It is only a matter of time before she uncovers something more sinister, Will she be up to the task of defending those who she loves or will the Mighty Shepard be taken down?





	1. Goodbye's Are Always Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edited 9/2/17

Morgan Alexandra Shepard was badly injured, her left side was bleeding, she could keenly feel the throbbing pain. The Reaper's; Harbinger, were still a threat to the galaxy and Earth. The Illusive Man laid dead and she was struggling to listen to the catalyst. She could choose between three? Let the Reapers continue their harvest and let herself be destroyed; Control the Reapers and Endanger everyone again; Or she could Destroy them, once and for all. Light Brown eyes stared at the pillar before her, this would bring the end. She couldn't let the Reaper's survive, she didn't want to control them either. Was this the end for her? It felt like it. She had faced down Saren Arterius and Sovereign with little fear, even when the Collectors were gathering everyone; she was there to stop them. To protect those that could not protect themselves. Anderson was alive... or Morgan hoped he was still breathing after the scuffle that happened with the Illusive man. Her deep brown hair had fallen out of her messy bun, her wavy hair had stopped just past her hips.

This was her last stand, her last battle. She could feel it, her head was swimming with pain; her gaze was getting fuzzy and unfocused. With a trembling hand she reached up and opened her communication link with the Normandy. “If anyone can hear this… SR-2 Normandy -” Morgan started as she raised her pistol. “This is Commander Morgan Alexandra Shepard, we have been through much as a crew. We have made and lost friends, we have each other's back… but this…” The Commander hissed in pain as she looked down to see her side bleeding more, the wound had ripped open a little more. A heavy wave of pain pulsed through her, making the woman gasp sharply. 

 “This is my last communication as your commander. I'm severely wounded and I fear I will not be able to see all of you again. It has been an honor these past three years to serve beside you. Garrus, watch over everyone-” she pulled the trigger and fired a round, “Joker, get everyone out alive. Kaidan- I know you can hear this. I love you. I will always love you, Stay strong please.” She fired off another shot at the hold, one more and it would be done. “Tali, Liara, James. It has been an honor serving as your friend and commander. Kaidan will take over the Normandy-” She spoke firmly as she finally pulled the trigger, the catalyst exploding in front of the 28 year old. Images of those who she lost; Ashley, Mordin, Thane, and Legion; flashed before her eyes. Those images switched to her parents; Admiral Hackett standing beside her mother, then it focused on her crew; James laughing with Liara, Garrus teasing Tali, Javik talking to Kaidan albeit reluctantly at first. 

The explosion threw Morgan backwards and into a pillar, landing on the floor in a heap. She watched as an orange light filled the room, for once. She wouldn't run. She would be okay. She had down her part to save humanity, even now the Reaper's would be destroyed, her friends would be safe. She closed her eyes as the warm orange and red glow washed over her and through the station. A simple smile was left on her lips as struggled to take  breath. “I'll be okay."  Morgan whispered, knowing her communication line was up. Hearing it frazzle as the Normandy took off and away, that brought some sort of calm to her as she felt the catalyst start to collapse.

Morgan reached for her breather helmet and put it on blindly. A soft groan was pulled from the woman as she opened her eyes to watch the building around her collapse and crash all around her. Her brain didn't register that something was falling above her, until it was too late. A loud and painfilled scream was pulled from the woman as a large chunk of metal landed on her back. Trapping the woman on her stomach. She knew that this was a bad layout but she couldn't move now; tears started to spill from Morgan's eyes, wetting her cheeks as she tried her comm line, "A-Anderson?" She tried, noting how scared and trembling her voice was. "A-Anderson... Are you there?" That ended up more as a question than a demand.

"Kid?" Came a static filled voice of her old Commander; He was alive. "Morgan, Can you hear me. What happened? I heard the explosion from down here." Morgan could hear the worry in his voice, how he tried to make sure that she was alive and kicking.

"The- The Catalyst exploded... The Reaper's are dead but-" She sucked in a painful breath. "I can't move..." her voice was cracking as anxiety, panic, and fear crept into her tone and into her mind. "A piece of the catalyst came off and fell onto my back. I can't feel my legs." 

"Shit. Okay kid, can you stay on a little longer?" Anderson questioned as he tried getting to his feet, He had to find some way to get Shepard the help she needed. 

"I- I don't think so... the world is getting fuzzy. Distant almost..." What was said after that was lost to Shepard, she felt the exhaustion, the pain, and the sorrow returning full force. It slammed into Morgan's tired and pain filled body without a second glance or mercy. Absently, Morgan noticed that the world around her was fading and fast. Colors became duller than darker in color, the sounds around her became muffled and muted. "I- I'm sorry." Came out her slurred and choked comment before her whole world became black and soundless. A void of nothingness.


	2. Recovered

It didn’t take long for the Alliance to find the Catalyst, it was mostly destroyed; wreckage crews sifting through the rubble. A young Turian soldier was walking through the rubble, looking over the damage, his mandibles twitching with his thoughts. It was odd to see this part of the Citadel, no one knew of this place not even C-sec.  A small trill was pulled from his throat as he spotted a strange object in the rubble. “Guys! Come here!” He called out as he trotted over, pushing the rubble away from the object. A leg… a human leg. “We have a body! Holy Crap… It’s human.” He muttered quietly before hearing his comrades come closer.

“A body? Tullius, you can’t be serious.” Caivius Aetion, Tullius’ commander commented as he stood behind the younger Turian. Caivius’ eyes widened seeing the human limb; a grow ripping through his throat. “See if there is more.” He ordered, his own mandibles twitching as he started to help his men and Tullius. His claws hooked onto one of the larger boulders, noticing the destroyed edge and how it seemed to have collapsed while something exploded. Probably a shock-wave. Grunting he took a step back and pulled, the others separated into two teams, one helping Tullius and the other helping their commander.

Claws scratched against stone as they struggled to free the large piece of metal. “Son of a- There were go!” Caivius rumbled as it rolled over and away from the limb, revealing more of the body. The armor was bent and broken, the hand that had been under the boulder had been broken and bloodied; possibly broken, maybe worse. The forearm was shattered, Tullius could see that for himself, pieces of bone was sticking out from the bloodied skin. The lower half of the back was crushed, the armor dented inward and pressing into the body, it's chest and head... were unscathed except for the slow bleeding wound. The chest.... It's breathing, who could survive this? 

“Sir? The human is alive.” He would recognize human anatomy anywhere; to see someone survive this? Was beyond impressive, it was damn near impossible.  “Do you think- “Tullius started as he continued to pull more of the rubble off the human, a worried look crossing his expression.

“Anderson is alive and at Huerta Memorial, this human is breathing but barely, Tullius. We need to get her to them.” Caivius ordered another, looking back down at the human. The human was female, her brown hair was bloodied and falling out of the bun. Long eyelashes were framed on a slight rounded face, her skin was a warm tawny color that was covered in too many wounds for him to like, even for him. Rose colored lips were pulled into a frown, Caivius noticed their pale color.  

As gently as he could he picked up the unconscious human, she was too light. “Tullius, with me. Everyone else, look for survivors or anything.” The Commander ordered firmly, his mandibles twitching as he adjusted his hold, doing his best to ignore the blood that was dripping from her limp hand. With a quickened stride Caivius started to make his way towards the elevator, Tullius was by his side and glancing over to the human in his arms. “we know who she is right?” The younger asked with a nervous tone.  
  
“I do.” He huffed softly, shaking his head in the process. “She **Needs** medical attention now. We cannot stall now, Adraion.” It was rare for the commander to call Tullius by his last name, normally it was reserved for something important, like a meeting with the Primarch or other Turian Hierarchy. Caivius’ foot falls were quick and determined, the walk to the elevator was short but it was the waiting for the elevator down that was the longest part. Caivius’ aqua colored eyes took a second to look over the human commander, even in this bad shape, he could see her youthfulness. Being fifty years old had taken its toll on him, he was constantly surrounded by those younger than him.

The Vi’s voice filled the elevator, announcing that they had reached their intended destination. When the doors opened, the two of them were assaulted with the scent of disinfectant, blood, and something that Caivius didn’t want to name. The hospital was filled with the injured and sick, people still recovering from the attack and the shock that they had survived it all. Stepping out of the elevator, Tullius rushed to one of the doctors. “I… we found a human in the area we were working in. She’s in bad shape.” He pleaded, a worried trill escaped his throat as the woman blinked a bit owlishly before looking over to the Turian commander and the human in his arms.

With widened eyes the doctor rushed over “my god… “she whispered before steeling herself. “right, follow me.” Giving a determined nod the woman led them to a free room, while gathering nurses and the required staff to stabilize the woman. Tullius and Caivius were put in a side room, mainly explaining how they found her, and if they had any more information. By the end of it, Tullius was anxious to get going; he didn’t do well with hospitals and the smells surrounding one.

The younger jumped feeling a hand settle on his shoulder. “go Tull, I’ll make sure the higher ups know about this.” Caivius trilled quietly, noting how the younger had gotten more closed off than he normally was. Running his thumb on the other side of his neck, Caivius shook his head. “I hate dealing with Delegates but with who we found, it’s better if I talked to them.”

Caivius just nodded before getting up and walking away, aiming to get a drink for himself. Caivius simply just shook his head before washing his hands and making his way to the embassies. Seeing the Councilor’s office open was a change since Udina had been killed; not like the bastard didn’t deserve it. Striding in with an air of confidence Caivius looked over to the desk where the new human Councilor sat at his desk, drinking his coffee like it was a normal thing. “Councilor.” He greeted politely, the human’s eyes meeting his own.

“Commander Caivius, to what do I owe the honor?” The councilor asked, his thick Italian accent was noticeable. “Forgive me, I’m councilor Sebastiano Ardizzone.”

“It’s an honor; Councilor, we found a survivor in the Catalyst ruins.” He replied evenly, noting as the human straightened up with interest.

“Is it-?” The man simply stared, awestruck that it could be her. Steeling himself the man gave a cough of his throat. "Is it the Commander?"

“We believe so. She’s getting medical attention at Huetra now. It was bad sir; I’m surprised she survived at all.” The commander admitted, rolling his lips and twitched his mandibles again.

“She’s known to be tough, it wouldn’t surprise me if she survived.” He glanced back to his computer. “Thank you for letting me know, Commander. I will alert the Normandy and Hackett at once; you are dismissed.” Sebastiano watched as Caivius saluted him and walked back out and into the hall. Sighing heavily; he pulled up the com system before getting to his feet and pacing around. He called Hackett first, he was her CO after all.

“This is Hackett.” Came the elder’s voice, he seemed to have a somewhat clipped tone in it.

“Sir? This is Sebastiano. They found her- Alive.” Sebastian noticed the pause before a sigh of relief.

“Is she Conscious?” Hackett asked, it was odd to hear him a little anxious, granted it was needed for what had happened with the Reaper's.

“No. Two Turian’s found her from the wreckage. I’m receiving the hospital reports as we speak.” Sebastiano strode back to his desk to look over the preliminary report. “I’m sending you the report now, Hackett. At a glance? It’s bad.” Shaking his head, Sebastian ran his fingers through his greying hair.

“Thank you, Councilor. I’ll Let the Crew of the Normandy know.”

“Where are they?”

“They crash Landed in Eden Prime; the Normandy is operational thankfully.”

“That far out?” Sebastiano asked, baffled on how they got **THAT** far out in the Terminus systems to begin with.

“They could have landed in Omega but they didn’t. Thanks again Councilor; Hackett out.” With that, Hackett’s end went dead. Well, that wasn’t so bad; it could have gone worse. Sebastiano shook his head, rolling his lips and sitting back down. Fully reading the report, knowing it would be updated regularly when the Medics and doctors knew more of her condition.  “Let’s hope she can survive this.” He commented to himself, taking another drink of his coffee.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sebastiano is http://consigliere-ardizzone.tumblr.com/ on tumblr. (my friends)
> 
> Edited: 9/2/17
> 
> We may see more of Caivius and Tullius soon, depending on how they fit into this whole thing.  
> I thought it was a nice place to end the chapter. more are on the way!  
> I am http://aliensquidkitty.tumblr.com/


End file.
